The World's Steepest Street

Like I mentioned in my previous post, our limited useful exploring time between naps combined with the constricted timetable we had for New Zealand as a whole meant that we didn't really have a whole lot of time to muck around while we were in Dunedin.

That said, I knew we couldn't leave my old home town without at least seeing one of the best tourist attractions in the country - particularly one designed in such a way that you can simply roll past it without making it an 'event' or even getting out of the car...

I know what you're thinking and you're exactly right. This tourist caper is exhausting!

OK, so I admit. We didn't go on the Monarch. We didn't visit the Albatross Colony, and we didn't see any Yellow Eyed Penguins - but I did turn left instead of right off the one way system to show Michelle Baldwin Street again, (on the way back to Mum's place for lunch of course).

So what is Baldwin Street you ask? Well, nothing really... unless you consider the fact that Baldwin Street is;

THE STEEPEST STREET IN THE WORLD!!!

That's right. You won't find one any steeper. I won't go on for fear of boring even myself, but for the Canadian's among; you this might be somewhat interesting, (for Kiwi's like me; I'd rather memorize the contents of a Jimmy's Mutton Pie). 


Alright, here. I'll save my breath and present you with what Wikipedia says about it all:

Baldwin Street in a suburban part of New Zealand's southern city of Dunedin, is considered the world's steepest residential street.^[1] It is located in the suburb of North East Valley, 3.5 kilometres (2.2 mi) northeast of Dunedin's city centre.

A short straight street a little under 350 metres (1,150 ft) long, Baldwin Street runs east from the valley of the Lindsay Creek up the side of Signal Hill towards Opoho, rising from 30 m (98 ft) above sea level at its junction with North Road to 100 m (330 ft) above sea level at the top,^[2] an average slope of slightly more than 1:5. Its lower reaches are only moderately steep, and the surface is asphalt, but the upper reaches of this cul-de-sac are far steeper, and surfaced in concrete (200 m (660 ft) long), for ease of maintenance (bitumen—in either chip seal or asphalt—would flow down the slope on a warm day) and for safety in Dunedin's frosty winters. 

At its maximum, the slope of Baldwin Street is about 1:2.86 (19° or 35%). That is, for every 2.86 metres travelled horizontally, the elevation changes by 1 metre.

Wow! See what I mean. It's exciting. Actually, I think we should plan our next trip to include the annual JAFA Race!!!

The Butterfly House

After the jet-lag subsided a bit and the girls were feeling adventurous, we decided to leave all the yummy things on Mum's table for a while and venture into Dunedin City for a day of touristing. Now, when I say a 'day', what I really mean is that we had a couple of hours to burn before Charlotte turned into a pumpkin around 2pm because that is her normal nap time, and three days in she was already starting to get herself sorted on New Zealand time.

So, with that in mind (and the weather raining cats and dogs), we decided to head down to the Otago Museum: http://www.otagomuseum.govt.nz/discovery_world_tropical_forest.html.

What a cool place. I've been there once before, but this is the first time I have seen it through the eyes of a toddler. Talk about waking up one day with 20/20 vision!!! 

"WOW!" said Tig. "A Ma-mah-fy". A couple of the colourful little imps came and landed on her shoe.

According to the boffin that was running the place, there are around 1,000 imported tropical butterflies - some of which escape from time to time and eat the local rhododendrons. 
There is a waterfall that is three stories high and the Tropical Forest is also home to live tarantulas, turtles, finches, tourists (including us) and other hot-weather-happy inhabitants. 
Funny, 'Dunedin' and 'Hot Weather' are not traditionally words that go together.
Did I mention the butterflies? I'm telling you, there were BUTTERFLIES EVERYWHERE...

Here is a little clip so you can share in Charlotte's wonderment.

Thanks Otago Museum, that was cool.

From The Haligonians.

My Visit to Granddad Kim's Place

This part of my trip I'm really looking forward to telling you all about. Man alive, have you ever seen so many sheep... and horses... and look over there, there's some deer and big fat old pig. Wow! There are so many things to look at here... No puppy! Stop licking my face...

When Dad and Ni-ni picked up Mum and me from the airport in Dunedin, we stopped off at Granddad Kim's place for a visit on Saddle Hill. It was the first time I'd met Granddad Kim, but he was really pleased to see me and started showing me around right away.

Of course, I was pretty tired after flying all the way from Halifax to Dunedin; so we all came back a couple of days later once I'd had a big sleep (and some chocolates and cherries at Nga-Niccy's house). This is what I saw...

My Granddad Kim's Place on Saddle Hill

1. First of all, Granddad Kim let me ride his tractor. It was a big red tractor that Granddad had been using to mow all of the lawns that he has around his giant palace on the hill. There were knobs and buttons for me to play with everywhere, but I couldn't sit still for very long because the seat was getting kinda hot from sitting in the sun.

2. Then, after going down past the Wool Shed to visit the pet lamb (another 'lamb-chops'), and the big fat pig; we went for a drive around the giant farm. After practising on the tractor, driving the Land Cruiser was a piece of cake. Check me out!!!

3. Before long, it got pretty dark and I was getting a little tired. At one point, I even needed my soother even in the day time. Mum said that it was because I was jet-lagged, but I think it was because I was just feeling really sleepy. 

We got to come back to see Granddad though, and he took us all out for a nice meal at Nellies. After dinner, guess what - we got to visit my Granddad's horses. They were so beautiful, and gentle too. I think my Granddad really loves those ponies because they all came over to him so that he could introduce me to them all. 

I think I might ask Dad to get me a pony when I grow up!

My Stay at Nga-Niccy’s House

Wow, what a long flight. I was so jet-lagged I woke up a couple of times to play with Dad at 2am; but in spite of being a little confused, I got some pretty good sleeps in the bassinet from Uncle Craig and Aunty Alice. Besides, those first few days there was so much going on I couldn’t sleep anyway. 

First of all, I have to tell you that there are sheep everywhere in New Zealand. In fact, there was even a little lamb tied up outside the front gate on the neighbour’s section. 

He was so cute, I called him ‘ A-Baa!’.

Not only that, but the view from Ni-ni's house was so great and all that sea air rolling in off the beach. Even though it was really misty for some of the days, Purakaunui (where Dad's from) is such a beautiful place. There is one little house called, As Ye Like It. Dad took me there one evening when the tide was coming in, and I thought the little huts would lift up and float away!!!

Oh, and did Mum tell you about the grocery store already? It was really neat. You stop off there on the way into the township when you're coming home from the city. Apart from Cheerios (the breakfast cereal, not the cocktail sausages), they have almost everything you need to bake a loaf of bread, or cook an egg with your bacon (and Mum's coffee) in the morning.

As well as good coffee, bacon and eggs every morning; Ni-ni (aka Nga-Niccy) was full steam cooking and baking all the most wonderful things. There were cherries, chocolates, cheese, apricots, chocolates, candies, lamb, chicken, pork, and… did I mention there were chocolates. 
Best of all, everything was at my height and it wasn’t long before Mum and Dad were in holiday mode and weren’t paying such close attention to me and my “confectionairing”.

Dad said that apart from the organic pork from the local butcher, that most of the yum things we had to eat came from Ni-ni's fantastic 'Secret Garden'.

Best of all, there was always lots of people there making plenty of fuss and giving me lots of attention, which I love. Even my great granddad David came out to meet me which was fun for both of us. I even got to see the korowai (traditional Maori cloak) that was made for me by Aunty Briar in Christchurch. 


The note with the korowai says, 'For The Hurricane Baby' and it has lots of feathers that came from Canadian Geese. Dad says the koru represents Hurricane Earl that came through Nova Scotia right after I was born. It's funny, but with all these people around me now, somehow I feel like I have been here once before!

 

Speaking of people. My all time favourite people (apart from my Mum), was my Nga-Niccy. She was so happy to have me stay and kept grinning at me all the time... (even when I was being a little naughty). She was so proud to have me there stealing all the cherries.
I remember Ni-ni from her visit to Halifax, so it was really nice to relax with her while I had my evening bottle...

Yawn! I'm so tired. So much going on, and it feels like breakfast time when Mum tells me I have to go to bed. I don't understand, but there are more cherries and chocolates on the table now, so I'm going to stay awake as long as I can... zZz zZz zZz

Ni-night, love Tiggy.

xxooxx